The names of each horizontal guideline are:  

The traceable worksheets you’ll receive will follow guidelines with:   

• 6mm x-height (indicated with a small grey bar);

• 2:1:2 ratio for ascender space : x-height space : descender space; and

• 55° slant (indicated with the slant lines).

There are variations such as a smaller x-height or a 3:2:3 ratio, but these can be harder to grasp for beginners.

Are guidelines really necessary?

I get that it may feel stifling or intimidating to follow guidelines. 

Maybe you just want to have fun and wing it! Or maybe you want to use a lined notebook that you have on hand. 

But I highly recommend that you follow guidelines strictly, especially when you first start learning. 

Guidelines help you to notice and fix most beginner problems from the onset, as you start building muscle memory. 

It’s much better to build muscle memory correctly, instead of undoing all the practice and fixing mistakes later on.

With that, let’s get started with the first basic stroke — the oval. 

Why the oval first? 

Because it’s the most important basic stroke in Copperplate. The width of the oval determines the width of the other basic strokes. This then determines the width of all lowercase, and subsequently uppercase, letters.

How to write an oval

General rule of thumb in Copperplate — upstrokes are hairlines, and downstrokes are shaded strokes. 

So to write an oval:  

1. Start at waistline. (Alternatively, some calligraphers prefer to start at the 1 o’clock position. Either way is fine, whichever is easier for you to write consistent ovals.)

2. Curved downstroke. Apply pressure gradually.

3. Release pressure gradually. Transition back to hairline.

4. Round at baseline.

5. Curved hairline upstroke.

6. Close the oval at waistline.

Common mistakes 

• Do not apply pressure too early at the waistline, or release pressure too late at the baseline. The oval should be a hairline at the waistline and baseline.

• Make sure the oval is on slant. For a start, the slant lines may be helpful — make sure the slant line cuts the oval in half. 

Here’s th traceable worksheet to practise writing ovals.

The number of traceable ovals decrease down the page, to gradually help you practise independently without tracing.

As with learning anything new — don’t worry if your ovals don’t look perfect! My first ovals were horrendous too. Just focus on improving one area at a time as you practice.

That was a lot of information for Day 1! The next email will be much easier, I promise. 

P/S If you’re sharing your practice on Instagram, you can tag me at @curious.medium or use the hashtag #copperplatein8strokes. I’ll check in regularly to share comments / feedback if I spot anything!

💌 Questions? Comments? Want to chat?
 Email me, and I'll definitely get back to you!